Flashback to 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when two U.S. athletics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, protested silently during the playing of the American National Anthem.
I remember watching this event on television and feeling pride at the action taken by Smith and Carlos, but that was not the reaction of most. They were booed as they left the podium that day and ostracized and criticized by the sporting establishment in the United States. Abuse of the two athletics went even further, to the extent their families even received death threats.
I thought of these two men the other day when I was listening to guns advocate Alex Jones rant on the Piers Morgan show about his need to have guns as a protection against the government. A few of us I guess shake our heads and mutter under our breath the word "wacko" and go on about our lives.
For others this off-balance zealot fuels the fire for those that feel the need to own assault weapons as their first line of defense against the perceived tyrannical American government.
This short but excellent post by blogger Charles Deemer appeared yesterday:
SUBTEXT
Posted: 17 Jan 2013 05:30 AM PST
There are folks in the land who want to keep their assault rifles because they expect to use them. They expect to use them one day against the government. I believe this is called treason.
What color will such folks turn if you suggest their behavior could lead to treason?
What color will such folks turn if you suggest their behavior could lead to treason?
Where were their support and enthusiasm for guns when the Black Panthers
armed themselves in the sixties?
We have come a long way but we still have a very long way to go. It is crystal clear even today the unwritten rule is to color within the lines.
Interesting. What were the two athletes protesting? I don't think I've ever heard about this.
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple of links to fill you in. I can't believe you never heard of this.
ReplyDeletehttp://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/on_this_day_two_african-american_olympians_make_silent_protest_heard_around_the_world.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute
Ah. No, I knew nothing of this. Good for them. BTW, there's a funny typo in one line of the top linked story: "During the victory ceremony, both Smith and Carlos stood on the pedestal wearing only black socks." I assume they meant to type "wearing THE only black socks." Did the Olympic Committee ever turn this around and congratulate the men, as they should have at the outset? It says nothing like this. If not, they still owe these two men an apology. Thanks for enlightening me. I was too high back then to notice anything.
ReplyDelete